Of the Fade
by Medieval Fan
Summary: A short fic about a different origin dream transpiring in the Fade. Rated T to be safe.


Disclaimer: I do **not** own Dragon Age in any way.

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**"Wake up, my dear girl."

Elvina's large blue eyes cracked open, squinting in a blinding sunlight. Many blankets were tossed upon her pale form where she was lying, in a large warm bed. Looming over the bed was a tall man, cranking a grin at her. His hair was dirty blonde, unlike her own bright hair, and fell down in ruffles no lengthier than his his earlobes. His face was handsome. his skin tan, and he was built strongly, like a warrior. She shut her eyes again, groggily rolling onto her side.

"You can't sleep all day," he chuckled. He shook her shoulder again. "Come. It's a lovely day."

"I'm still tired, Father," she murmured.

Another shake. "Come on!"

Heaving a sigh, she sat up and hung her legs over the side of the bed, wiping at her eyes lazily. It was her own bedroom all right. Just as she remembered it. Child's toys were spread out across the floor, the curtains were the same bright- wait.

_Child's_ toys?

Her father caught her confused look immediately, and a split second of panic appeared onto his features. It was gone as fast as it had came.

"Sorry," he said. "I was just... going through the chest last night, remembering the old times while you were asleep. Must have left them out on the floor..."

That made sense, or at least she seemed to think so. Without a word she stood up and walked out of room and into the next. The walls were wooden, as was the rest of the cabin. Several chairs sat across from one another, a large rough rug laid in the center of the room, and a few stacks of books sat on a small table in one corner. She threw open the front door to the house and smiled.

""Tis a lovely day indeed."

No road led to their house, for their house was in the middle of a clearing in Fereldan. Golden trees towered high in the distance, swaying against one another. A lake shimmered far off and beautifully reflected puffy white clouds floating about it, tall grass ruffled in the wind, the scent of flowers lingered in the air, and birds sang cheerfully to one another.

Everything was perfect.

She was unaware on how long she stood in the door frame admiring her surroundings. Suddenly the air changed. Something seemed odd about this picture. She squinted. By the lake there seemed to be something in the air. Tiny black squares. First there was a few, and then there were dozens within an instant. Then they were the shadows of people, and then people themselves. They had just seemed to... materialize from nowhere. No matter. Her mind told her to forget about it.

"It seems we have guests," her father murmured from beside her. A scowl was etched upon his face.

"I know them, Father."

Indeed she did. A man with dirty blonde hair geared in shining silver splintmail was at the head of the small group of three. Behind him was an elderly female mage wearing crimson robes and a pained expression, and beside her walked a tanned heavily armored quanari with a blank look. Slowly they approached the cabin.

"Finally, we've found you!" Alistair exclaimed, giving her a quick hug. "We've been wandering around this wretched place forever, it seems."

"What a way to greet somebody," she muttered. "I find that insulting. Look around you. This place isn't wretched... it's wonderful! Perfect!"

"Why don't you introduce me to your friends, dear?" her father inquired.

"Think carefully, child," Wynne said, interrupting. "How do you know us?"

What an odd request! She mentally searched around her mind from corner to corner, trying to find those memories of how they could have met. The corner of her mouth twitched. A buzzing lingered in her mind. She could remember nothing. _Nothing_. Was she sick? Had she fallen on her head recently and forgotten about every moment of her life?

"I-"

"Parshaara," Sten spat. "Will we have to kill him, too?"

Fear overtook her. "K-kill who?"

"Listen to me, Elvina," Alistair said. "None of this is real. Before you say a word, hear me out. Think carefully. Do you remember being a Grey Warden, and the battle at Ostagar? Do you remember the Circle, and the abominations running loose around the tower? Do you remember the sloth demon?"

The buzz in her head grew stronger, blocking out memories from entering. _Why_ was she here?

"I... don't want to be here. I need to be away from here, to think."

Everything after merged into a blur. Everyone began attacking her father, and all she could do was watch in horror. Sten's hammer slashed through his stomach. Alistair's shield bashed his face several times and his sword pierced his side. Wynne unleashed a small bolt of lighting, scorching his skin. All she could do was be rooted to the spot and watch the scene with tears spilling from her eyes.

"Why... don't you help me?"

Blood was splattered everywhere. On the walls, the floors-

"Why are you just watching... me die?"

And then he fell to the ground with a heavy thud. Sobs shook her whole body and tears blinded her vision as she fell to her knees, cradling his unmoving form.

"Father... Father..."

Alistair crouched down beside her. Roughly he shoved the body from her hands, and grabbed her by the shoulders, forcing her to look at him.

"Look at me, Elvina," he pleaded. "None of this real."

"Damn you, Alistair!" she cried, trying to push him away. "You... _murderer_! Why would you kill my father?" She shot her glare at Sten and Wynne. "What has he ever done to you all?"

Alistair looked hurt. "None of this is real. Please, just look at me. Think about everything I mentioned..."

Everything was fading. Color melted off of everything, melding into an ugly brown color. Trees became dead, grass became dirt, the sky turned dark, the lake vanished, and her father's body turned into the figure of a deceased demon. No longer was she at her home. She sat in the twisted Fade.

**~OoOoO~**

Night claimed all of Fereldan. The_ Tranquil_ silently sailed across the calm waters of Lake Calenhad, heading towards Redcliffe. Elvina sat down on the deck, leaning against a wall with her head on her hands. Footsteps padded towards her, and she didn't need to look up to know who it was.

"Shouldn't you be sleeping, Alistair?" she asked, not bothering to look at him.

"I just wanted to check on you," he softly replied.

He sat down beside her. For a time neither said anything.

"Do... you want to talk about it?"

A long pause. Maybe now was as good a time as any to talk about her past, right? She raised her head and gazed at him.

"I used to live with my father," she explained, "in the middle of nowhere. I'm not sure of even a rough estimate of where it was, but there you have it. That was where you found me."

"That doesn't make sense," Alistair said. "Duncan told me he found recruited you when you were living with the elves."

"Long ago," she began, "I _did_ used to live with my father when I was a little girl, around the age of six. One day he left our cabin to hunt, and he just... never came back. For two days he was gone. I panicked, expecting the worst. Not knowing what to do, I wandered away from my cabin with a tear stained face and weak from hunger to try to find him in the surrounding forests. It was a foolish thing to do, I know now. I stumbled across a bear and screamed. It gained up on me as I ran away, and an arrow swooshed out from behind one of the trees.

"A Dalish elf had killed it. Curiosity picked at him at the sight of me, it seemed. When I explained what happened, he led me off towards a camp filled with his kind. In his own tongue, he explained to the Keeper what had happened. They watched over me, and several small groups had been sent out to scout the area in hopes of finding him for the next several days. No sign of what could have happened, no body, nothing. Eventually they just... stopped searching. I assumed him to be dead. They were not without hearts, so they took me in as one of their own.

"I was taught as any other of the elves were taught. How to hunt, creep in the shadows, wield a bow, skin an animal, track beasts and other humanoids, speak their language, and believe in their religion. None of them looked upon me with hatred just because I was a human. I was just like them. They were my family... my lethallan. But not a day went by where I didn't wonder about what happened to my father. Not a day went by where I didn't mourn him. Not a day went by where I didn't wish I could be back in the cabin, living with him again.

"Duncan found me as we were wandering the Wilds, and recruited me into the Wardens. Well... that's it. You already know what occurred next."

Silence all around. She went back to staring at her hands.

"I-I'm sorry," Alistair choked out. "I should have handled the situation at the Circle better. If I had known..."

He didn't finished the thought. Instead he wrapped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her close to him. She rested her head against his chest, appreciating that he uttered nothing else.

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**A little thing that's been lingering around my mind for a while now. I wish they had more origin choices, but I suppose that would have been a little too much to ask for. Reviews are appreciated.**


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